Journal of a Sylveon

Slight obstacles

The gym wasn't anything we hadn't seen before. It was a simple building in most respects, sitting in a town that was in all other ways unremarkable. But we had a battle to win, and strode confidently inside. But there was something in Milly's stride that was a little bit off... she was likely exhausted from how late she stayed up last night combined with the fatigue of this morning's pedaling. She kept nodding off as we waited in the waiting area for our turn to battle. 

When it was our turn, we took deep breaths as Milly carried us in. What happened next we didn't quite expect.

The gym leader's expression changed when he saw Milly. I didn't seem to know him. He was completely unfamiliar. As far as I could tell, Milly also didn't recognize him. But the guy hurriedly tried to squash any sign of anxiety as he greeted us.

"Trainer Milly! Word precedes you... welcome to my gym!"

So, word of the trainer with an impressive winning streak had gotten around. She seemed a bit taken aback, similarly to me. But there was a battle to be fought.

Dewmaru was first. He fought well, but was confused when Milly got distracted and couldn't shout the commands in time. He took a few hard hits, but managed to defeat his opponent first before he himself was rendered unconscious. Next, mother Floatzel fought. She also seemed a bit thrown off by Milly's inconsistency. The son Floatzel ignored Milly's garbled commands and fought how he saw fit. Milly did not object. He did very well that battle. Serperior was next. A grand spectacle of leaves and light woven into complex attacks followed, and she put away two opponents. My turn. 

I also was going to make it a point to not listen to Milly's commands. I knew she wouldn't be too happy with that, but we were all intent on winning. 

I did the usual drill: dodge around for a little bit, then attack. Repeat. The tactic worked wonders, and the final opponent staggered and fell. Sweat had beaded on my forehead, and Milly hardly acknowledged out victory. Sixty-eight wins. She stumbled a bit when she went to shake the gym leader's hand. He expressed concern at this.

"Are you alright?" he inquired.

"Mm-hmm..." Milly said offhandedly, eyes half closed. 

"You're tired... you need rest," the gym leader said.   

Milly didn't answer. He took her hand.

"Follow me..." he said. I was a bit alert at this, and followed warily. But such would not be needed; he simply led her to a chair, and helped her sit in it. But in case, I jumped up on her lap and acted to also get a bit of rest. So, Milly drifted off into a nap. I remained awake. 

"She's pretty lucky!" the guy said. I looked at him imploringly. 

"She had a great team of Pokèmon. You chaps did really well! It was a finely-secured win," he said. I smiled a little bit. He stood up. 

"Well, I suppose I'd better take my Pokèmon to the center. See you in a little bit!", and he left. 

That night, he insisted that Milly stay for dinner. After some convincing, she reluctantly accepted. I'm sensing some attraction coming from him... he seems to like Milly a bit more than normal. I'll keep alert in case the need arises that I need to defend her... 

We left soon after dinner. When seeing her off, the guy kissed Milly's hand. He was a little sad at seeing her leave, but he knew that she still had a lot to do, I guess. He's not wrong. Our next battle is tomorrow, and Milly promises to turn in earlier this time. 

Until tomorrow,

-Takao